Lincoln – May 2018

Welcome back dear readers! I hope you’re all keeping well in a crazy environment but it’s business as usual here. It’s Thursday which means another blog post!

I said last time out it’s rare for me to have blogged about England and then here there are two English destinations on the bounce. In spite of a little staycation up in Manchester in the March, I was still itching for some adventure and with no annual leave to use and pennies to save towards the summer I had to look to my own country for inspiration.

Fortunately the football season keeps me occupied to a point between August and May but with the football season nearing its conclusion I was desperate to make the most of a free weekend and a city I’d been meaning to visit for a while was Lincoln.

It’s not too far from my home in Peterborough and yet I’d somehow never visited the city. It’s only about an hour away on the train so actually really easy for me to get to. Therefore on the first Sunday in May I decided I was going to go. It turned out to be a gorgeous day for a daytrip too. A surprisingly sunny bank holiday weekend, who would have thought?

LincolnCastleandCathedral
Lincoln castle and Lincoln cathedral

Anyway I hopped on the train mid-morning and a little while later I was arriving in to Lincoln. On a daytrip I figured there were probably two must sees in Lincoln – the castle and the cathedral. If I saw anything else whilst in the city I considered it a bonus.

I left the train station with no real clue which direction to go so I figured I’d just walk until I saw some signs. If you leave the station and walk straight the first thing you’re likely to stumble upon is Lincoln’s shopping district. You’ve got a shopping mall here and then a bunch of exterior shops too. Given it was a sunny Sunday and mid-morning it was inevitably crowded.

I quickly saw and followed signs towards the castle and cathedral. For anyone else that’s visited Lincoln you’ll likely know what this entails but I’d liken it to my struggles in climbing to the view point at Kerry Park in Seattle – it’s an uphill struggle! You know what the prize is at the top, beautiful architecture and history but it looks like a long way up when you’re at the bottom of the hill – aptly named ‘Steep Hill’ – they’re not joking!

SteepHill
Steep Hill, Lincoln

On the plus side it is a beautiful walk up there at least. The streets are cobbled and there’s pretty and old buildings along the way – most of which home to shops or businesses of some sort that provide perfect shelter or respite from the climb.

Having reached the top myself and feeling the need for a reward of some kind I couldn’t help but tempt myself to an early lunch. I’d passed Brown’s Pie Shop, which I’d heard good things about, so figured it would be a perfect place to fill my stomach before any further exploration. The food was great, it’s somewhere I’d recommend visiting if you’re ever in Lincoln and was a worthy reward for my climb of Everest (Steep Hill).

I made the castle my first proper stop of the day. I hadn’t done any prior research so wasn’t sure what it would cost to visit, however as it turned out I’d timed my visit perfectly. There was some event on which meant entry was free to the public today. Ordinarily there’s an admission price of £14 plus a further fee if you want to walk the walls so I’d saved myself a good chunk of money by visiting today.

LincolnCastleEvent
Lincoln castle grounds

On the grounds was a tent set up for some artists performing live music. Further in to the ground were old planes set up on the grass which were pretty cool to look at. It’s a little pricey if you visit ordinarily but I still think I’d have been pretty content had I paid an admission, rather than getting a free visit.

The grounds are absolutely beautiful and that’s before you tackle the medieval wall walk. This is particularly worth doing as you can walk the walls of the castle at your own leisure and get incredible views over the city.

Lincoln Castle
Exploring the beautiful castle grounds!

I took so many photos, some of which I think are the best I’ve ever taken. Admittedly the clear blue skies added to them but I could have spent so much longer exploring the castle. My only surprise was that it wasn’t busier given the free admission. For all of the castles you’ll find in England, I’d say this is one of my favourites I’ve been to so far.

LincolnCastle
Lincoln Castle – one of my favourite photos I’ve ever taken!

Opposite the castle is the cathedral. Inbetween were a host of markets selling little bits and pieces. I’m not sure if this is just a Sunday market or regular market but it was nice to have a quick look at some of the things on sale.

Escaping the market crowds I made my way over to the cathedral which is impressive in its own right. Like the castle it was surprisingly quiet too, the market inbetween the two seemed the busiest part of this area of the city. I enjoyed looking around for a little while, both interior and the exterior of the cathedral grounds. It’s worth a visit but there is an admission charge for the cathedral.

Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln cathedral

The castle and cathedral had taken up a bit of time between them and I was content I’d seen the main things I wanted to see in Lincoln. However I figured I’d also squeeze in a visit to the Medieval Bishops’ Palace.

I have to say, I actually found this a little underwhelming and wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it. I had a brief look through the ruins but the highlight for me was probably some of the views of Lincoln’s cathedral from the gardens. That said, as disappointing as it was, it appears to be under renovation currently so perhaps wasn’t at its best on my visit. I’d be tempted to go back and see what has changed and if it’s improved at all.

Having seen all I wanted to I made my descent down the steep hill, feeling some sympathy for those heading upwards. At the bottom I decided to have a little stroll along the river which took me past the shopping mall, also aptly named ‘Waterside’. However I wasn’t really looking to do any shopping so made it a brief walk and headed back to the train station to enjoy my Sunday evening back in Peterborough.

LincolnTrainStation
Lincoln train station, time to go home!

It had been a fun few hours in Lincoln. The cathedral was impressive but the castle is undoubtedly the highlight of the city. The grounds are stunning but the views from the walls blew me away, just the luxury of being able to walk the walls make this a must visit I think.

I’d definitely recommend Lincoln as a daytrip, it’s a great place to spend a few hours. However if you find yourself tempted to visit for longer and want more ideas on what to do, I’d suggest checking out one of my favourite fellow bloggers for more inspiration. Marion recently spent three days in the area and wrote about it here.

Lincoln’s a university city so I’d be tempted to stay for at least a night next time and experience some of that ‘famous’ nightlife. I say famous, I just know a lot of people who’ve been to Lincoln University but still.. I’d like to go for longer next time!

Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed my first visit. I’ll wrap this one up! Next on the blog? Here’s a sneak preview of where I’ll be writing about next!

Stay tuned!

Jason

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jasonlikestotravel

I'm Jason and from a little place in England. Here to just talk about my various adventures. Hopefully you find some inspiration or just enjoy hearing my stories :)

35 thoughts on “Lincoln – May 2018”

  2. What a lovely write up about Lincoln Jason and thanks so much for saying such nice things about my blog and linking to my post! I really look forward to reading your posts too. I hope all those businesses like Brown’s Pie Shop manage to survive this nightmare! How have you been spending the day?

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    1. Thank you! I hope those independent businesses can survive too, I’m not sure how things are over there and if people are avoiding going out but they’re still open at the very least so hopefully the custom they’re getting will get them by.

      Everything is closed here so today’s been a home-bound day really. Good chance to catch up on blog-reading though. I’m still reading posts from January, I saw you’d posted about Lincoln recently which prompted me to give them a read as I knew Lincoln was my next scheduled post. Hopefully I’ll catch up on your Blackpool / York posts soon 🙂

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      1. It’s be sunny here today and everything is still open in the small town where I live. People seemed to be ignoring advice as cafes seemed reasonably busy. There were notices on a couple of charity shop doors saying they had had to close as they relied on volunteers who presumably were elderly and didn’t want to risk going out. It’s so thoughtless that people have been stockpiling but I expect it will settle down when they run out of space in their freezers and cupboards to store it all. I was supposed to be heading back to Blackpool on 28/29th March to visit the Pleasure Beach and go up the Tower but that’s now indefinitely postponed as well, oh well!

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      2. Yeah, I figured whilst it only remains as advice rather than enforced that people will still do as they please. It was enforced here so businesses have no choice but to close, with the exceptions of supermarkets and things which are victim to stockpiling here too sadly.

        It’s a shame another trip of yours has been postponed. Hopefully you’ll be able to make up for lost travel time later in the year!
        We’re re-thinking our plans on Utah now too so might have to consider a plan B or something to do. The national and state parks remain open so there are still some options for us.

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    1. Hopefully travel will be back to normal soon enough. Definitely worth a day trip when you make it to England 🙂

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  5. I loved Lincoln, especially its castle! Most memorable was the chapel within in which prisoners were locked into their own special compartment for services. Kinda like social distancing. They were actually closer than 6 feet to each other, but there were essentially in a wooden box that only provided a view of the pastor. If I remember correctly, they thought crime was a social disease, so they didn’t want the prisoners socializing with each other. Fascinating.

    Also, I’m not sure I realized you are from Peterborough. I’ve never been, though I don’t think it’s terribly far from the husband’s hometown of Newark, but what I do know is that Catherine of Aragon is buried in Peterborough Cathedral. Cool!!

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    1. It’s a lovely city. Haha, their own form of social distancing. I bet they still had toilet paper though!

      Well, originally I’m from London but I’ve lived in Peterborough for quite some time. I probably haven’t mentioned it an awful lot though.
      The cathedral is beautiful. Mary Queen of Scots was also buried there (although later moved to Westminster).

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    1. Maybe you’ll get a chance in the future sometime. I’ve only been the once but there’s still plenty of other parts of the UK I haven’t seen – Oxford perhaps the most shocking for some people.

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  9. Pingback: Lille – June 2018 – Jason likes to travel

    1. Oh I agree. Haven’t been there at Christmas but I hear it’s lovely that time of year too. I might try visit in December and see for myself.

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  13. Pingback: The big 3-0: Day one – Chicago bound – Jason likes to travel

    1. It’s a great city. I’ll probably pay another visit when all of this crazyness is over with.
      Thank you!

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  15. Great read Jason! My husband routinely takes me to small English towns so he can watch Notts County! It is amazing how many gems there are so close to home! I really enjoyed reading your blog. Thanks.

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    1. Sorry, I’m only just replying. I hadn’t received a notification on this until now! I’m glad you enjoyed the read, I’m sure following Notts County takes you to some really lesser known parts of England! Hopefully away days will return in the near future – missing the football and the travel! Haha.

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